


Shadow

by Deadlihood



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe- Mafia, Asexual Character, M/M, Seven Deadly Sins, universe typical violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-12
Updated: 2019-01-12
Packaged: 2019-10-09 02:16:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17398088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deadlihood/pseuds/Deadlihood
Summary: Hoseok knew, in his heart of hearts, that it wasn’t a compliment to be known as Lust.





	Shadow

Hoseok knew, in his heart of hearts, that it wasn’t a compliment to be known as Lust. He doubted the others truly enjoyed their codenames either, but it was another thing to be dangled out like meat on a hook.

But he was good at it, too good in fact. A well-placed glance, a tilt of his head, they could be more effective weapons than Kihyun’s explosives or Hyunwoo’s brutal strength. It was the reason he and sleepy-eyed Hyungwon had been selected in the first place, picked out of the crowd. Hyungwon’s talents had shown themselves in other ways, more subtle ways, leaving Hoseok to fulfill his own role.

There was a soft chirp in his ear, then Jooheon’s voice crackled over the line. “On your left.” The younger man sounded as bored as Hoseok felt. They’d been waiting in the nightclub for nearly two hours. Changkyun must have been frozen out on the rooftop.

Hoseok lifted the glass to his lips, covering their movement. “I see her.” Out of the corner of his eye he saw Jooheon change positions. He drifted back across the nightclub to cover the exit. Hoseok was far more at ease than the other two on his team tonight. Hyolyn was deadly, there was no doubting that. He’d seen her take down men twice her size without even breaking a sweat. But this was just a hand-off, an exchange of information. If she pulled a knife on him in a crowded nightclub, he’d be very surprised.

“At least they send me the good-looking one,” Hyolyn purred as she shimmied up to him. She was wearing a dress of liquid silver that sparkled as she moved. A closer look revealed it was made of tiny chains that flowed over her lithe body. She draped her fur stole around his neck and turned to the bartender. Through the slit at her thigh, Hoseok could see the knife strapped to her leg. Like Hyolyn, it was small but lethal.

“I’ve been waiting for you,” Hoseok said, turning on the bar stool to face her more fully.

“Oh, poor baby.” She squeezed his chin. He had to force himself not to bare his teeth. She smirked, obviously aware how much he hated being touched. “Not as tough as you look, are you?”

“I’m a lover, not a fighter.” He drained his glass and slid it across the scarred wood to the bartender.

She held her glass up to him in a toast. “To loving, not fighting.” She downed half the vodka in one gulp, then set it down. “Shall we move somewhere more…private?”

They collected themselves and slipped over to a table in the corner. It was clear both of them felt safer with their backs to a wall.

“Did you know I asked for you?” Hyolyn asked, her eyes serious for the first time.

“Why?”

“Because I know lust.” In that one sentence, Hoseok knew she understood how he felt, understood that when she was working and people touched her, they left the same black marks on her skin as they did on his. Marks that they would both fight to scrub off, to make themselves stop feeling the weight of hands on their flesh.

The line crackled to life in Hoseok’s ear. “Get a move on. Movement out here that doesn’t look friendly,” Changkyun muttered.

“I sense we’re going to have to cut this short,” Hoseok said. “We may have some company.”

“Guess it’s going to be one of those nights.” Hyolyn shrugged. “You have my money?”

Hoseok’s eyes flitted down to the dress. “Where are you going to put it?”

“I have my ways.” She stroked the fur stole. Her hand passed over the creamy white fur and there was a small envelope in her hand.

“Clever.” He reached into his jacket and palmed the wad of money. The exchange took place too quickly for anyone but Jooheon to know it had happened. Hyolyn hid the money in her stole, blew a kiss to Hoseok, and skipped away.

Hoseok waited until the end of the song to get up from the table and head for the door. Jooheon was a few steps behind. They reached the parking lot without incident, climbing into the sleek black car they’d been given for the night. Hoseok knew from Jooheon and Changkyun’s reactions that it was a nice car, but he’d only cared that it was fast. They needed to move quickly.

They pulled around the back to pick up Changkyun, who’d come down from his perch quickly and quietly.

“Do you want to drive back?” Jooheon asked as they waited for him to cross the back lot.

“Thought we were staying the night at a hotel.” Hoseok scanned the lot for whatever movement Changkyun had seen. He wouldn’t have come down if it didn’t look safe, though. Maybe he’d been mistaken.

The familiar _pop pop pop_ of gunfire proved Hoseok wrong. Changkyun dove behind a Dumpster for cover. Hoseok and Jooheon ducked down in the car.

“Guess it’s going to be one of those nights,” Hoseok muttered, grabbing the duffel bag from the backseat. Jooheon was grinning from ear to ear, looking almost maniacal. Hoseok may not have liked his codename, but Wrath certainly seemed to enjoy his.

It was over in minutes. Jooheon went out firing, Hoseok pulled the car to the Dumpster to get Changkyun inside. By the time Changkyun had gotten in and pulled a rifle out to help Jooheon, he was already getting back into the car, ruffled but no worse for wear.

“Well, that was quick.” Hoseok reversed, tires screeching, and they peeled out of the parking lot.

“Only two.” Jooheon holstered his guns with the nonchalance of someone closing a book. “So, can I drive?”

\--

It was nearing dawn by the time they arrived home. Hoseok ached for a shower and his bed, not necessarily in that order. But there was the matter of the information they’d collected to be attended to first.

Their handler, Gunhee, was waiting at the kitchen table for them. Several cigarette butts smoldered in the ashtray in front of him.

“Took you long enough,” he said gruffly, even as his eyes scanned them for injuries and other abnormalities. Gunhee tried to act like he didn’t care but he never quite managed.

“Had a little excitement on the way out,” Hoseok said, dropping into the chair across from him. He produced the envelope and handed it over.

“Anything we should know about?”

“Probably someone following Hyolyn. We took care of it.” Jooheon leaned against the wall, his eyes drifting closed. He’d been getting sleepy while he drove and he wanted his bed.

“Good work. See you in the morning.” Gunhee patted Changkyun on the shoulder before leaving the room. The front door slammed behind him.

“Good, that means I get to go to bed.” Hoseok heaved himself up and headed down the hall towards his room.

His room was simply decorated in shades of blue and white, a dark wood desk pushed against one wall and its matching dresser against the other. The bed was large and cozy, a navy-blue comforter pulled over white sheets. A door led off to his small bathroom. He briefly contemplated taking a quick shower, but exhaustion won out. He stripped off his clothes, leaving the smell of the nightclub behind, and changed into soft pajamas. It seemed almost incongruous that a highly trained soldier would like soft, cozy pajamas, and even softer sheets. He’d learned early on to take his creature comforts where he could.

He folded himself under his comforter, groaning slightly as the mattress fit to his body. He was worn out from all the adrenaline of the day. And he was going to have to get up and go to training. He groaned again, pulling his comforter tighter around himself. He didn’t want to think about training or getting up or even being a person.

\--

_“Shin! Son!” Hoseok looked up from his food to face the sergeant calling him._

_“Sir?” He asked, standing up. Another man was also standing, some other recruit that Hoseok hadn’t bothered to learn the name of._

_“Both of you, in the major’s office.” He hooked his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the office building. Hoseok hadn’t had any reason to be called in there and he certainly didn’t think he’d done anything to warrant being called in front of the major. He’d been doing great, actually. Training came easily to him after years of working out and pushing his body to its limits. Still, he was being called in and he wasn’t about to argue._

_They walked to the office in silence, both of them puzzling through their actions over the last few days. Were they being commended for something? No, probably not. Hoseok felt his stomach churning with nerves as they waited outside the office. They couldn’t throw him out, could they?_

_The major looked even more flustered than Hoseok felt. He was standing off to the side and another man was sitting behind his desk._

_“Shin Hoseok and Son Hyunwoo, as ordered,” the major said, his hands clenching into nervous fists. The man behind the desk studied them both for a moment._

_“My name is Gunhee.” The man stood up. He was tall, with wideset eyes and close-cropped dark hair. He was dressed like a civilian, button-down shirt tucked into dress pants, but he wore military boots.  “I’m here to offer you both spots in my employer’s organization. You’ll receive the best training in the world and the best pay, too. You’ll be honorably discharged from service if you agree.”_

_“Why us, sir?” Hyunwoo asked, almost surprised at himself for asking._

_“Because both of you exhibit certain…skills that we find valuable.”_

_“What kind of skills?” This time Hoseok was surprised he’d spoken. Gunhee didn’t look like the kind of man who was often questioned._

_Gunhee crossed his arms over his chest, leveling his stare at Hoseok. “Hyunwoo broke a man’s jaw during sparring. You’ve managed to charm every sergeant on the base into doing whatever you want. Skills that I can put to use. You could be the best with training.”_

_“So, because I’m charming and he’s strong, you want to take us out of the military?” Hoseok had to admit, the whole thing sounded good, even though it was crazy. Better pay, better training. But at what cost? And why was the major sweating so hard?_

_“What do you want us to do?” Hyunwoo looked like he was seriously considering the offer. Probably because he was glad to not be getting in trouble for breaking that other guy’s jaw. Hoseok had seen it happen. Hyunwoo probably hadn’t even been using his full strength when he smashed his fist into his sparring partner’s face. The blood spray had looked it something from a horror movie. Rumor had it the guy had lost a couple teeth, too._

_Gunhee smiled and it was neither charming nor calming. “That’s a discussion for somewhere else. Join me for lunch?”_

\--

Hoseok stumbled out of bed and headed straight for the shower. If there was one thing he appreciated about not being in the army anymore, it was the unlimited hot water here. He shed his clothes and stepped under the hot spray, letting it run down his broad back. Slicking his dark hair back, he reached over for his face wash. It was his duty to look as good as possible, after all. It was tiring and tedious, but at the very least it meant he got punched in the face less than everyone else. Especially when it was Hyunwoo doing the punching, it was better to protect his face.

After drying off and getting dressed in sweats and a t-shirt, he headed off to breakfast. There was an enormous amount of protein powder in the house but sometimes he was in the mood for a breakfast he could chew. Today was one of those days.

He fixed himself some eggs, rice, and coffee and sat down at the table to enjoy his feast. Hyunwoo wandered into the kitchen and grunted a hello. Hoseok supposed he should feel close to the older man, having come to the organization at the same time from the same place, but they weren’t. Hoseok wasn’t close to any of them like that, not the way Minhyuk was with Hyunwoo or Jooheon with Changkyun. He kept them all at arms-length and it seemed to work out for him.

“We’re sparring with staffs today,” Hyunwoo said, shaking his protein powder into the whole milk they kept in the house specifically for him. Hoseok grunted noncommittally. He didn’t mind the staffs unless Jooheon decided to fight dirty and started bashing knuckles.

After breakfast, Hoseok stretched in the training hall, moving through different yoga poses to loosen his muscles. He liked the quiet calm of yoga to start off his morning. Kihyun usually joined him but he was probably off tinkering with some new explosive device. Then he set off on a run around the grounds, feet pounding against the hard-packed track they’d worn into the earth. Running was equally calming, a sort of numbing exercise that didn’t require him to think much.

Today, though, he was thinking about Hyolyn. It was rare for someone to notice how much he disliked his job as the pretty face, let alone someone who didn’t know him well. Then again, he’d nearly snarled at her for touching his face. That must have been a dead giveaway. Maybe she’d been playing with him when she said she knew lust, or maybe he’d just misunderstood her meaning. He mulled it over as he completed his first loop around the grounds.

After his run, he stopped to stretch again before returning to the training hall for weapons training. Today was staffs, as Hyunwoo had said. Hoseok was paired with Minhyuk, thankfully, and was spared the pain of broken knuckles. Hyunwoo was not so lucky and his howl rang out through the training hall. Minhyuk would have to check him later.  

When sparring was over, Hoseok was dismissed. He took another shower and curled up on the couch with a book to relax. Unless Gunhee told him otherwise, he was off duty until tomorrow morning’s training and he intended to enjoy it to the fullest. Luxuriating on the cushy couch with a good novel seemed like a good start to his day off, especially after last night.

In this line of work, it wasn’t unusual for people to be shooting at him. Frequency didn’t make it any easier. He stretched out on the couch, crossing one ankle over the other. Maybe he’d go for another run later and work off some of this restless energy.

Wrath and Pride wandered into the room, heads bowed close together as they murmured back and forth. Jooheon had been the first to accept Changkyun as a member of their little group and they’d become best friends. Sometimes Hoseok envied them their closeness, but Envy wasn’t his place. Kihyun was envious enough for all of them. Hoseok supposed that meant he should be lustful enough for all of them, but mostly he just wanted to be left alone.

Gunhee had been the one who’d come up with their codenames. He’d wanted a set of seven and the deadly sins had fit the bill. He’d christened each member with their own sin, one they were guilty of or that people practiced upon them. It was a heavy weight to bear.

Hoseok abandoned his book. He needed to run, clear his head again.

\--

_“I told you to stay down,” Jooheon snarled, pushing him back down on the table. “Minhyuk, he needs another shot.”_

_“I’ve already given him three,” Minhyuk snapped back from behind his mask. The morphine in Hoseok’s system was warring with the adrenaline still pumping. “Hyunwoo, hold his legs.” He wrapped his arms around Hoseok’s legs and leaned his full weight on them, pinning them down. With Jooheon pressing down hard on the middle of his chest, Hoseok was almost immobilized. Almost. He fisted one hand in Jooheon’s shirt just to have something to hold onto._

_“I told Gunhee I needed the anesthetic already,” Minhyuk muttered, gloved fingers pressing into Hoseok’s left arm. “First mission will be fine, my ass.”_

_“Just. Do it,” Hoseok grunted out from between gritted teeth. Jooheon tightened his grip on Hoseok’s other arm just as the scalpel came down. Minhyuk was quick, pushing the skin apart with his fingers to dig out the bullet. Hoseok yelled, the searing hot pain in his arm ramping up. Then Minhyuk was shooting him with another syringe of morphine. Hoseok was barely aware during the stitches, only really noticing it was over when Hyunwoo let go of his legs._

_The next thing he was aware of was Gunhee standing at the foot of the infirmary bed. Blinking slowly, Hoseok took stock of himself, of the white bandages wrapped around his left shoulder._

_“We’re going to have to work on your reflexes, I guess,” Gunhee said, lighting up a cigarette. Part of Hoseok’s fuzzy brain knew he shouldn’t be doing that in the infirmary but he wasn’t sure his tongue knew how to work yet to say anything. “Hyunwoo tells me you held it together pretty well for being, you know, shot.” He took a long drag on the cigarette. “If you remember anything from this, I hope it’s how to fucking duck.” With that, he walked away, leaving Hoseok in darkness and silence._

_\--_

Days passed and no new missions came in. Gunhee came every morning to train with them, running them through drills and different obstacle courses. One day, he took them to an abandoned warehouse an hour away from where they lived. There were plywood walls, blocking off the middle of the floor. An opening was close by, a red X spray-painted to the right of it.

Gunhee passed out vests and what looked like paintball guns, waiting as everyone suited up. Hoseok had a feeling they weren’t about to have a fun paintballing afternoon. Everyone else seemed to have come to the same conclusion. Kihyun eyed Gunhee warily.

“Don’t look at me like that, Envy.” Gunhee insisted on calling them by their codenames when they were training. Hoseok suspected it was so they became used to answering to them for when they were out on missions and had to respond to them over the radio. “Lust. You’re up first.” He pointed at the opening. Hoseok didn’t want to know what was inside, but he had been trained to follow orders. So he walked in, eyes scanning for clues as to what he was supposed to be doing.

It looked like he was in a hallway made of plywood, the floor covered in sawdust. He turned the corner and saw that the path split off in two different directions.

A maze, then. He paced down the right fork, coming to a dead end after two more turns. Retracing his steps, he took the left fork and was greeted by a masked figure holding a paintball gun. He dove back around the corner just as a paintball spattered blue against the wall. He peered around the corner carefully and narrowly avoided another yellow ball. He fired back once, twice, and heard the _thwack_ of the paintball hitting flesh.

When he looked back, the masked person had their gun pointed at the ground and made no movement to shoot at him when he stepped out from his hiding place.

Hoseok figured out the rules when he avoided a trip wire. He had to make it to through the maze without triggering the booby traps or getting “killed” by one of the figures with the paintball guns. One hit him in the arm, leaving what he was sure was going to be a massive bruise, but he made it to the end with just the one orange splotch on his clothes.

He hadn’t realized that he’d been led in one big circle until he saw Gunhee and the others.

“Fifteen minutes, eight seconds,” Gunhee pronounced, looking at his stopwatch. “Let’s see who can beat his time.”

Hyunwoo won at fourteen minutes, fifty seconds. He soaked up Gunhee’s praise like a sunflower turning to the sun. It was the only prize he’d get. The others were told to see Minhyuk for ointment for their bruises and dismissed. Hoseok was just happy to be allowed to go home, where he changed clothes, rubbed some ointment into his arm, and went down to the garage.

They had several cars at their disposal, although Hoseok rarely went anywhere. He liked being at home even if he had to share the space with six other men. It was better than an army barracks at any rate. Today he wasn’t in the mood to make his own food and his stomach was growling.

He drove the five miles to town and picked the first restaurant he could find. Taking the table in the corner, he settled himself in and ordered a feast. Just out of curiosity, he checked his bank account on his phone. The number of zeroes on the screen was astounding. Gunhee hadn’t been lying that day so long ago when he’d promised Hoseok he’d be well-paid. It made the pain when he moved his arm worth it.

The waitress was a pretty girl with long pink hair who eyed his muscles under his turtleneck appreciatively. He gave her a tight smile and turned to his food. It wasn’t until he was halfway through the slab of beef he’d ordered that he realized he wasn’t the only one from his team in the restaurant. Kihyun was sitting against the other corner, scanning the menu. Hoseok wondered if he’d followed him or if he’d just picked the first place he saw, too.

Hoseok had been surprised by Kihyun when they’d first met. He’d expected more men like Hyunwoo, broad-shouldered, brutally strong. Kihyun was slight, almost delicate. It wasn’t until he’d found out what Kihyun’s role on the team would be that he understood his value.

\--

_Hoseok wandered through the lower level of the house, having moved his meager belongings into his room already. There was the kitchen, a large living room equipped with several couches and a large entertainment system, a training hall. A white room with what looked like medical equipment lay behind one closed door. Then there was an infirmary with a row of cots waiting._

_He tried the next door and was surprised to find someone in it. He was narrow-shouldered, with fashionably dyed light brown hair and a face like an opal. He glared at Hoseok over wire-rimmed glasses, a screwdriver in his hand._

_“Who are you?” Hoseok asked, looking at the array of wires and metal on the table in front of him._

_“Kihyun. Who the hell are you?”_

_“Hoseok.” He stepped forward and Kihyun hissed, arms coming up to protect his worktable._

_“You’re an idiot, Hoseok.” Kihyun shooed him back._

_“What are you doing?” His eyes fell upon a clock on the table and suddenly all the wires and bits made sense. “You’re making a bomb.”_

_“You’re not as dumb as you seem, then.” Kihyun’s eyes flicked past him and Hoseok felt a hand on his shoulder._

_“Kihyun’s workshop is off-limits, Hoseok,” Gunhee said, pulling him out of the room._ _“I can’t afford to have you blown up.”_

_“I wouldn’t touch anything.” Hoseok sounded like a petulant child. He followed Gunhee away from the workshop._

_“Kihyun’s more likely to booby trap your toothbrush. He’s…touchy.”_

_\--_

Kihyun’s hair had changed since they’d met, having grown back out to black, but he was still as touchy. He seemed to get along best with Hyungwon, if only because Hyungwon didn’t talk much. Hoseok had found it best to treat Kihyun with care, not wanting him to explode. It had been ugly the few times he’d seen him actually get angry.

“Would you like me to get that out of your way?” The waitress asked, breaking Hoseok out of his thoughts. He’d finished eating a while ago and had been staring out the window at the clear sky.

“Oh, sure.” He leaned back in his seat and let her pick up the plate. Kihyun had noticed him and lifted one hand as a greeting. Hoseok nodded back. They didn’t talk much either, preferring quiet sessions of yoga to actual conversations.

He paid and left the restaurant, strolling down to the riverfront to watch the birds. He’d always found it calming to watch the water birds bobbing around in the water, pecking at the shore, flying so low that their wings skimmed the surface of the river. It reminded him that his job wasn’t the only thing in the world. That nature continued on no matter what he did.

He spent an hour just sitting by the river, nursing his sore arm and watching an egret selecting different pieces of brush for its nest. It was these moments of quiet reflection that Hoseok cherished. It was always noisy at the house, whether it was the TV or music or fighting or laughter. Sometimes he just needed to sit and be alone with his thoughts. And it was better to do it in the sunlight, where his thoughts couldn’t turn so dark.

In some ways, he was itching for a new task. Sometimes they’d go months without a mission and he’d start to go a little crazy. He always needed a goal to work towards; working out wasn’t enough.

Eventually the cold got to him and he picked up the car from the parking lot to head for home. He turned the heater up full blast in the car to cut the chill. Maybe he’d make himself a pot of tea and find another book to read. Reading kept him sane most days, gave him something to do other than push his body. He’d been working his way through several biographies, some of celebrities and others of historical figures. The way celebrities could reveal their secrets so easily was always a mystery to him. Then again, celebrities didn’t have the secrets he did.

When he returned home, he fixed himself a pot of green tea and retreated to his room. His nightstand was ringed with water marks from the countless cups of tea he’d left sitting there. It was a bad habit; he told himself when he moved out, he’d work on it. But moving out was a distant dream and so was the hope of fixing his many bad habits.

\--

Hoseok had never been happier to get a new mission. They’d been waiting for two months for something, anything, to come through Gunhee. Hoseok had read what felt like half of the local library and gained another few pounds of muscle. Everyone had started to get a little twitchy, the way they always did when they were cooped up together too long. It was easy to see; Kihyun yelled more, Hyungwon slept less, Jooheon acted out more. He and Changkyun had perfected a method of spitballing that was driving Kihyun up the wall. Hoseok was surprised he hadn’t completely lost it yet. But Kihyun seemed to have a bit of a soft spot for Jooheon and Changkyun. The two street kids were the only ones safe from Kihyun’s wrath. Most of the time.

Now he was crammed into the backseat of a SUV with Kihyun and Hyungwon. Hyunwoo was many things, but a good driver he was not. As they careened around another corner, Kihyun slammed into Hoseok. Kihyun muttered an apology and grabbed one of the handles on the roof of the car.

“Do you think you could not kill us on the way there?” He grumbled at Hyunwoo. Hyunwoo, thankfully, didn’t take his attention off the road. Minhyuk was navigating in the passenger seat and directed him to make one final turn.

The seven deadly sins executed their mission with efficiency. Hyunwoo and Hoseok dispatched the guards waiting at the outside, letting Jooheon and Changkyun into the building to blaze Kihyun’s path to the center. Hyungwon was Kihyun’s chosen assistant, carrying one of the bombs into the warehouse. Jooheon was bleeding from a cut over his eye but grinning with bloody teeth by the time Hoseok caught up to him. Minhyuk had already been into the office to cut the computer loose

Kihyun and Hyungwon set up the bombs as Gunhee had shown them on the blueprints, setting them against the loadbearing walls. The whole warehouse would come down when they were done. Hoseok was watching over them when he noticed someone that Jooheon and Changkyun hadn’t dispatched.

And that someone was holding what looked like a machine gun, pointed directly at Kihyun. Hoseok shoved Kihyun over and dove on top of him, more to get out of the line of fire than to shelter him. The two of them lay pinned down, sheltered behind a stack of crates. Splinters of wood showered down over them as the man kept firing.

As suddenly as it had started, it was over. Hoseok peeked over the edge of one of the ruined crates and saw blood spreading on the floor. Jooheon was standing where the guard had been, gun in hand. Hoseok stood up and helped Kihyun off the floor. It looked like one of his cheeks would bruise and there were splinters in his hair, but he was no worse for wear.

“Thanks for not getting us blown up,” Kihyun said, dusting himself off. “Are we done here?” That was another thing that Hoseok had never understood about Kihyun, his nonchalance towards danger. Hoseok was a little shaken from having someone with a machine gun firing at him, but he’d always liked living.

The explosion was one of Kihyun’s finest. The whole warehouse collapsed under the force of the blast, columns of smoke snaking into the sky. If nothing else, Kihyun was a skilled bombmaker. Hoseok watched the flames start to lick upwards as they drove away.

No one had sustained any major injuries, which made Minhyuk’s job easier. Jooheon would need stitches above his eye and that was all. They’d been trained well. The fact that they’d been sent to do such an easy mission was proof that Gunhee had needed to get them out in the field before they went crazy.

Hyungwon took the computer they’d stolen off into his lair as soon as they got home. For all his laziness, Sloth was a gifted hacker. He’d have the computer unlocked before the morning.

Hoseok tried to sleep but couldn’t relax. He found himself pacing down the dark hallways of the house, hoping to walk himself into exhaustion. He rounded the corner towards the practice room, planning on doing some yoga to calm his mind, when he smacked into a smaller body.

“Watch where you’re going,” Kihyun snarled in the dark.

“It’s pitch fucking black and you’re creeping around, how am I supposed to see you?” Hoseok flicked the light on and was surprised to see Kihyun’s face so drawn. The smaller man looked like hell.

“Well you shouldn’t have been creeping around in the dark either.” Kihyun sounded as stressed as Hoseok felt, and he felt himself soften a little.

“I was going to do some yoga. Want to join me?”

“Fine.”

So the two of them turned on the bright lights in the practice room and rolled out their mats, settling into the flow. Hoseok felt much better by the time they were done, his limbs losing their cramped, restless feeling. He was about to excuse himself for bed when Kihyun spoke up.

“Thanks for saving my life,” he said, looking at Hoseok with an earnest expression. It was the first time Kihyun had ever looked so open. Usually his face was pinched with irritation or carefully schooled into neutrality.

“We’re a team. Can’t let either of us get shot to bits.” Suddenly bold, Hoseok reached out and patted Kihyun on the shoulder. “Good night.”

\--

After that, things changed. The routine was the same, for the most part. Hoseok woke up, fed himself, trained, relaxed. But Kihyun was making himself more visible now, joining Hoseok on his morning run, cooking dinner at the same time. It was the way that Kihyun made himself unobtrusive that made Hoseok not mind it so much. He didn’t push for friendship or force him into conversations he didn’t care about. No, he was just there in companionable silence.

Hoseok found himself beginning to expect Kihyun around, started waiting for him to do things. They started taking walks together and talking about their lives before they’d joined the team. They talked about their codenames. Hoseok told Kihyun about the way everyone seemed to react to him like he was a piece of meat, something to be claimed and used. Kihyun told him about the way he had always envied people’s easy personalities, the way that he envied Minhyuk’s likability.

Hoseok hadn’t realized how much he’d missed having a close friend. It was nice to have someone like Kihyun around, even with all his prickliness. He had even noticed a softening in Kihyun’s personality, like he was letting his guard down a little. It made it easier to open up to him in return.

It was one day when they were down by the river that it happened. It wasn’t a big gesture, nor was Hoseok really blindsided by it. It was an obvious step in their growing closeness. Kihyun reached out and took Hoseok’s hand, lacing their fingers together.

“Is this okay? I mean, I know you don’t like being touched.”

When it was Kihyun, Hoseok didn’t exactly mind it. “It’s fine.”

The two of them returned to their bird watching, content to be together in the quiet.

\--

The first time they kissed was after a mission. Hoseok had been sent out to pick up another information drop, this time from one of Hyolyn’s associates, Bora. It had been a quick, simple exchange, money for information, but Kihyun still greeted him like it was a dangerous mission he’d been sent on. They’d been keeping their newfound affection for each other quiet, so it was behind the safety of Kihyun’s closed door that they kissed.

It was a gentle press of lips at first, then Hoseok’s hands came up to cup Kihyun’s soft cheeks and it grew deeper. Kihyun wrapped his arms around Hoseok’s trim middle, tracing his fingers up and down his spine.

Hoseok didn’t know how to tell him that was as far as they’d ever go until it came down to it one day. They’d gotten permission from Gunhee to take a trip out to Jeju Island and had booked a hotel for the night. They’d gotten two beds, for respectability, but Hoseok had expected that they would share. They occasionally slept in each other’s beds, although Kihyun vastly preferred sleeping alone.

It was that night, after a day riding horses and seeing the sights, that Kihyun shyly played with the waistband of Hoseok’s sweatpants. “Do you want…?” He asked softly.

Hoseok didn’t know how to answer without destroying the fragile balance of what they had. He was deeply attached to Kihyun at this point, preferring his company over being alone, which he’d always cherished. “I don’t…do that.”

“Do what?” His face started to pinch with fear.

“Sex. With anyone, I mean.” Hoseok wrapped his arms around Kihyun, hoping that the physical contact would make it feel less like a rejection. “It just doesn’t interest me. It’s not you, I promise.”

“You’re sure?”

“I promise, Ki. I tried when I was younger. It’s part of what makes the code name suck so much, you know?”

“I don’t think any of us like them.”

“But especially not me. I mean, who wants to be the guy who doesn’t have sex but ends up having to answer to Lust?” He looked carefully at Kihyun. “Are you upset?”

“It stings, a little. No one likes getting rejected.” He laughed uncomfortably. “I get it though. You shouldn’t feel like you have to comfort me, I’ll get over it in a minute.”

“Is this a dealbreaker for you?”

“I’m in this for you, Hoseok. Not for your dick. I think we’ll be just fine.” He kissed Hoseok’s forehead gently. “Now come on, let’s watch a movie without explosions in it.”

“They couldn’t compare to yours, anyway.”

They held hands while they ate room service and watched some sappy romantic comedy they found on TV, and the knot in Hoseok’s chest eased a little. He was happy with Kihyun and he would put up with being called Lust, if only because joining the team had brought them together.


End file.
